Karnataka - Mysore   

‘Sankeerthana Yatra’ permitted with several conditions

MYSORE: The recent meeting of Dattatreya Peetha Samvardhana Samiti (DPSS) with Governor Rameshwar Thakur seeking permission to allow Sangh Parivar to hold Sankeerthan Yatra appears to have yielded result.

The Chikmagalur district administration on Tuesday accorded “conditional permission” for the Sangh Parivar to hold Sankeerthana Yatre on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner Naveen Raj Singh said the district administration had laid 18 conditions for the samiti to conduct Sankeerthana Yaatra (procession), including restraining the Sangha Parivar from conducting any religious rituals atop Bababudan Datta Peetha. Detailing the conditions laid, he said the organisers should restrict yatra only to Chikmagalur taluk and members of Sangh Parivar from other parts of Chikmagalur district would not be allowed to participate in the yatra. Yatra should be commenced at 4 p.m. and conclude by 6 p.m. and any attempt to prolong it would be dealt with appropriately.

Those who participate in the yatra should not shout slogans, which were detrimental to communal harmony and the samiti should see to it that only small “Bhagavadhwajas” (flags) were used in the procession.

The samiti should not hire more than three vehicles for the procession and it had been barred from using elephant in the procession. The participants could shout slogans permitted by district administration such as “Bharat Maata Ki Jai”, “Dattatreya Maharaj Ki Jai”, “Prabhu Shri Ramachandraki Jai” and “Gomataki Jai”.

The samiti should provide a list of 100 volunteers to the district administration and district administration would provide identity cards to them. They should not resort to bursting crackers during the procession, Mr. Singh said.

The district administration would do the video recording of the yaatra to check whether the organisers have violated conditions in any manner.

The decision to permit Sankeerthana Yatra was taken after conducting meetings with all the concerned and confirming that, allowing the yatra would not harm the communal harmony in any manner, he added.

Vipul Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Chikmagalur district, told The Hindu that tight security arrangement had been made in view of the conditions laid by the district administration and 10 check posts were set up in various parts of the district, besides six check posts in the city to stop “Dattamaladharis” (those wearing sacred Dattamala) from other parts of the district and the State. Devotees would not be allowed to perform religious rituals atop the hill under any circumstances, he said.

As many as 15 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police, three platoons of paramilitary force, 2,000 civil police and Home Guards had been deployed to maintain law and order in the city, he said.

BJP MLA C.T. Ravi welcomed the decision of the district administration. With regard to the decision of not allowing the Sangh Parivar to conduct religious rituals atop the hill, he said that an appeal would be made to the district administration for conducting homa.

“District administration had permitted religious rituals atop the hill till 2004. However, because of political pressure district authorities refused permission. Now with the President’s Rule in the State, we will appeal to the Governor to permit religious rituals,” he said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike (KKSV) took serious objection to the decision of the district administration.

Vedike convener K.L. Ashok said that Sankeerthana Yatra was not a “religious yatra”, but a yatra to stir communal harmony.

“Despite knowing that Sangh Parivar had breached the conditions laid in the previous year, district administration accorded permission. However, the vedike will be forced to react in case of any violation of condition during this year’s yatra,” he said.

Mr. Vipul Kumar said the Sangha Parivar had not breached any condition laid during the previous year.

Bangalore Special Correspondent adds:

Komu Sauharda Vedike has protested against the Chikmagalur district administration’s decision to give permission for “Nagara Sankeerthane”, stating that it would give room for communal elements to create a “communally provocative” atmosphere.

Mr. Ashok said in a press release that although the decision to give “conditional permission” seemed harmless at the outset, experience showed that the Sangh Parivar elements tend to “flout conditions with impunity and create trouble”.

The district administration should not compromise on a question that concerned the peace of a region, particularly when Datta Mala and Datta Jayanti were receiving a lukewarm response from the people, he said.

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‘Sankeerthana Yatra’ permitted with several conditions

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